Freight news – Page 83
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NewsNew England’s Pan Am Railways up for sale
USA: New England regional railroad Pan Am Railways has been put up for sale, with the private owners including majority shareholder Tim Mellon appointing BMO Financial Group to assist with the process.
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NewsBallina – Waterford freight trains to resume
IRELAND: Global logistics company XPO is preparing to launch a regular freight service between Ballina in the northwest and the port of Waterford in the southeast.
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NewsGerman government commits to rail at national summit
GERMANY: The federal government underlined its commitment to investment in the rail sector to enable a significant increase in market share during a Rail Summit hosted by the Federal Ministry of Transport & Digital Infrastructure in Berlin on June 30.
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NewsAkiem Astride tested in Croatia
EUROPE: Hungarian freight operator CER Cargo has received certification to operate in Croatia using a modified Astride multi-system locomotive, which has been leased from Akiem for use on international services between Hungary and the ports of Koper and Rijeka.
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NewsPowerHaul locos arrive in Finland as Operail expands outside Estonia
FINLAND: Wabtec announced on June 26 that the first two of nine broad gauge PowerHaul diesel locomotives had been delivered to the port of Hanko in Finland for use by the local arm of Estonian state-owned operator Operail. The 1 524 mm gauge locomotives are being assembled ...
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NewsWorld rail freight news round-up
Green Cargo has renewed contracts with two industrial customers for the transport of wood chips and pulpwood from Norway to Sweden. The contract extensions take effect from December and will see Green Cargo move the commodities on alternate days. Trains in Norway are operated in partnership ...
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NewsIron Horse terminal opens
USA: Following four years of development Iron Horse Terminals has fully opened its freight facility at Beaumont in the southeast Texas petrochemical region. The site, which is connected to Union Pacific and BNSF routes, has space for storing more than 1 300 wagons, a 30-wagon maintenance facility, ...
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NewsVandalised freight line reopened after six years
SOUTH AFRICA: Transnet has re-opened the freight route between Pretoria North and Hercules, which has been closed since August 2014 owing to cable theft and sabotage. Reopening is intended to improve the efficiency and reliability of trains serving customers in the mining and automotive sectors, supporting ...
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NewsLineas awards diesel locomotive overhaul contract
BELGIUM: Freight operator Lineas has awarded Voith a contract to overhaul an initial 30 of its Siemens/Vossloh Class 77 diesel-hydraulic locomotives, to improve reliability, reduce operating costs and minimise downtime. The 4½-year agreement announced on June 23 covers a major overhaul with a predefined scope, plus options ...
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NewsDedicated logistics concept developed for China – Germany medical glove shipments
INTERNATIONAL: Geodis has organised four shipments of containers carrying millions of disposable medical gloves from Chengdu to Nürnberg by rail for the German government. A batch was also sent to Frankfurt by air. The 40 ft containers are fitted with GEOtags which enable live tracking via GPS. ...
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NewsWorld rail freight news round-up
United Wagon Co’s TikhvinSpetsMash plant has delivered 100 Type 11-6874 covered vans to Kuchukterminal, which now has a fleet of 220 vans with 25 tonne axleload Type 18-9855 bogies. UWC estimates that more than 5 000 life-expired vans are due to be removed from service by 2022, ...
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NewsHow the rail sector fought Covid-19
INTERNATIONAL: The International Union of Railways’ coronavirus task force has published its third document on the sector’s response to the crisis, focusing on how the rail industry fought Covid-19 during lockdown periods and looking at the mitigation measures put in place to stop the spread of ...
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NewsModular multi-function wagons on test
GERMANY: Trials have begun with a modular platform wagon that can be adapted for use with a variety of cargoes. In a joint development programme called M2, DB Cargo and wagon leasing group VTG have completed initial dynamic tests with the first vehicles and will now commence noise and static load testing.
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NewsAverage speed of Russian rail freight increases to 466 km/day
RUSSIA: The average speed of consignments across the Russian Railways network increased to 466·3 km/day in May, 16·3% higher than the same period last year and 28·4% above May 2018, RZD has announced. For shipments over distances of more than 2 600 km the average speed reached ...
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NewsWorld rail freight news round-up
Oil refiner Slavneft-Yanos has ordered a batch of Type 15-6913 molten sulphur tank wagons for delivery from United Wagon Co’s Tikhvin plant in late October. Australian Rail Track Corp has started work on a 300 m extension to Mount Murray loop on the ...
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NewsAncala to acquire Hector Rail from EQT
SWEDEN: Mid-market investment manager Ancala Partners LLP’s European Infrastructure Fund II has reached a definitive agreement to buy rail freight operator Hector Rail from EQT. The transaction announced on June 12 is expected to be completed in Q3 2020. Stockholm-based Hector Rail was founded in 2004 and ...
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NewsCo-operative group seeks to launch Lyon – Bordeaux open access service from 2022
FRANCE: Nascent open access operator Railcoop lodged a formal application with the Autorité de Régulation des Transports on June 9 to launch a Bordeaux – Lyon inter-city service using the conventional route via Périgueux and Montluçon. Photo: Christophe Masse A direct Lyon - Bordeaux service could be revived ...
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NewsIndian Railways starts double-stack electric operation
INDIA: Regular operation of electrically-hauled double-stack container trains on the Indian Railways network began on June 10, with the start of electric haulage on the 272 km Palanpur – Botad section of the Western Railway. IR began exploring the feasibility of running double-stack trains ...
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NewsCoronavirus crisis offers lessons for rail freight policy
EUROPE: The European Rail Freight Association says lessons about the key success factors for rail freight can be learned from the significant improvement in performance which has occurred as a direct consequence of the drastic reduction in passenger traffic during the coronavirus pandemic. Shippers have long been ...
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Rail Business UKGB Railfreight to lease more intermodal wagons
UK: GB Railfreight has signed a contract to lease a further 52 WH Davis Ecofret2 three-section container wagons from VTG Rail UK. The announcement on June 10 follows a previous agreement covering 32 Ecofret2 wagon sets, which are due to enter service in 2020-21. Ecofret wagons are ...